Wellness Weekend April 5-9, 2012 (Easter/Passover Edition)
Happy Thursday, Wellness Weekenders! Hope your transition to April (what? already??) has been a smooth one. Over here in the DDD household, we don’t “do” April Fool’s, so all is still calm and peaceful.
(“What do you mean, Mum? Chaser does April Fool’s. She also does May Fool’s, June Fool’s, July Fool’s, August-–”
“Aw, c’mon, Elsie. You know that’s just my naturally exuberant personality. Better be nice to me or you might just see MY face up there on that logo next week.“).
Whatever the month, we had a slew of great recipes–as usual–from all of YOU--last week! With Easter and Passover both this weekend, I’m looking forward to lots of holiday-themed dishes along with all the regular fare this week.
Newsy Tidbits
- It’s almost time for Nourished! The only food blogger conference for all special diet bloggers–not just gluten-free–takes place next Friday, April 13th! I’ll be wrapping up my presentation details, prepping some travel food and packing my bags over the coming week. Have you got your ticket yet? Hope to see you there!
- Tess over at Healthy Blender Recipes is holding a giveaway of all giveaways–she’ll be handing out a KitchenAid stand mixer to one lucky winner! Throughout the month of April, Tess is featuring one blogger each day along with a new recipe that can be made in a stand mixer. This week’s participants include Kelly Courson from Celiac Chicks, Elizabeth Kaplan from The Pure Pantry, Valentina Kenny from Cooking on the Weekends and Sarah M Bourdreau-Romano from The Allergist Mom, Alexa Croft from Lexie’s Kitchen, Alisa Fleming from Go Dairy Free, yours truly, Colette Martin from Learning to Eat Allergy Free, and Lisa Cantkier from Gluten Free Find. Head over to Tess’s blog to see the recipes and enter for your chance to win!
- Shirley’s got a great giveaway for Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips--she’s giving away SIX BAGS to ONE READER! Giveaway closes tomorrow, Friday, April 6–so hop on over to Shirley’s blog and enter!
- The Blissful Chef is giving away a Silpat mat for your baking and cooking pleasure! Details here.
- I didn’t publish a holiday roundup for Easter/Passover this year, but you can check out these other bloggers’ roundups, and previous DDD versions:
- Alta at Tasty Eats at Home has this roundup full of healthy recipes (some vegan)
- Adrienne from Whole New Mom posted an Easter dessert roundup (some vegan)
- Easter and Passover Recipe Roundup from DDD, 2011 edition
- Chocolate Covered “Cheesecake” Easter Eggs from DDD
- Festive Easter Recipes for 2010 from DDD
- Passover Recipe Roundup 2010 from DDD
This week, I decided to focus on bloggers who are new to Wellness Weekends. So how about a warm welcome (sounds like I’m introducing a standup comic or something) to these fine folks:
- Chocolate Avocado Banana Pudding from Sensual Appeal. Kammie is a new blogger whose blog is filled with healthy, yummy food and gorgeous photos, like these!
- Chickpeas and Spinach in Coconut Milk from The Healthy Beehive. I found Jane’s story of weight loss and finding a healthy balance inspiring! She’s been gluten and grain free since 2011.
- Green Monster Smoothie from LifeCurrents. Deb’s healthy recipe definitely resonated with all of you–more than 100 readers clicked on the linky so far!
And this week’s Readers’ Choices:
Readers’ Choice, Savory: Falafels for Babies and Toddlers . Gotta say, this adult thinks they look pretty delish, too!
Readers’ Choice, Sweet: Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownie Bites from Wayfaring Chocolate. Hannah does it again. . . this gal knows her raw balls, all right! 
Thank you to every one of you who played along by submitting your recipes! I love seeing what you all make each week. I always look forward to seeing what you’ll come up with!
Please join us for Wellness Weekend this weekend! There are so many options for healthy foods. . . whether or not you’re vegan, remember that many salads, veggie side dishes, pasta dishes, desserts, smoothies, and more are naturally vegan and can all be included! 
Here’s How to Participate:
The event occurs once a week, starting Thursdays at 8:00 PM my time and running until the following Monday at midnight.
- Simply link up a recipe you made (and posted about) that contains health-supporting ingredients (see list below). You may link up older posts from your archives as long as they contain a link to this post. Please do not link more than once to the same page from your blog.
- Please link the post with your recipe, NOT your blog’s home page or another event page. The post must contain a recipe.
- You may submit more than one recipe, but please follow the guidelines for each one individually. ONLY ONE THUMBNAIL FROM EACH BLOG POST, PLEASE. If your post contains two suitable recipes, link up once and people will still see all your fabulous recipes when they click on the linky.
- Please be sure to mention this event and include a link back to this post so that others can find all the recipes posted!
- Feel free to use the blog badge, above (or see the left sidebar of this page–if you need the html code, let me know and I’ll send it to you). Many thanks to Adrienne of Whole New Mom for setting up the badge code for me!
What your recipe CAN contain:
- Any good-for-you, whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.)–but any fresh, real food is welcome!
- Natural sweeteners (coconut sugar, agave, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, stevia, Sucanat, rapadura, coconut nectar, yacon syrup, etc.)
- Vegan ingredients (even if you’re not vegan, OF COURSE you can still play along! You’ll be surprised at how many foods are naturally vegan; and if not, there are many subs you can use for eggs, milk or butter–include vegan options and we’re good to go!).
- Note that this is NOT AN ACD-ONLY EVENT. Any real food ingredients that are sugar-free and vegan are more than welcome–so use that maple syrup, those mushrooms, that nutritional yeast, miso, etc! I’m just looking for healthy, whole foods recipes.
What your recipe cannot contain:
- White flour, white sugar, or any highly refined, highly processed ingredients (note that regular brown sugar is actually refined!);
- Anything almost entirely artificial (ie, most boxed mixes, fast food, faux “cheese,” faux “meat,” or margarine, unnaturally colored cereals or other foods, etc.);
- Animal products (meat, chicken, fish or seafood, or their by-products, gelatin, eggs, dairy, butter or honey).
“Hey! Why was my entry removed?”
I will reluctantly remove any links that don’t comply. I apologize, but I will no longer be able to leave a comment telling you that I’ve removed a non-compliant link.
- The most common reason entries are removed is because they don’t adhere to the guidelines: either they don’t contain a link back to this post, they contain ingredients that aren’t listed here, they link to another blog event, or they contain neither a recipe nor anything directly related to food preparation. If you render a recipe vegan-friendly by adding a vegan option to your ingredients, your post will be good to go! For older posts, you’re welcome to re-post them during the week of the event, or choose a newer recipe.
- Another reason posts are removed is because the link leads to an advertisement or a business blog. Please do NOT link up posts that are merely referrals to a different post or the home page for another blog event.
- I hate to have to remove links! PLEASE read the guidelines before posting!
And n0w. . . what have you been cooking up lately? Please share!
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Hi! Hope you have a great Easter weekend Ricki! I shared my Cauliflower and Lentil Soup recipe this week!
Thank you for hosting!
Vicky
[Reply]
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Hi There Ricki,
And HElllOO April! Wow. Can’t believe it.
This week I am sharing two recipes.
The first one is my very first blog post (from back in August). Vegan, cane sugar free fudgesicles (with video).
And the second recipe is something I make several times during the week: simple cabbage saute. I will be referencing it more as time goes on (as a side dish) and so I wanted to have a little post about it.
Have a great weekend Ricki.
Be Well,
–Amber
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thanks for the links to the great Easter ideas!! I was needing some inspiration….I shared a pot pie w/ a vegan option and some pretty amazing chocolate muffins! Thanks for letting us share again!
[Reply]
Happy Easter weekend!!
I’m sharing a super simple & healthy quinoa bowl with roasted veggies and chickpeas. Thanks for hosting!
[Reply]
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Thank you for featuring my recipe! I’ve linked up another.
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Oh, the readers’ choice thing was so lovely to read this week
I will never give up my spherical treats throne 
[Reply]
Ricki Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Ah, yes, “spherical treats”–sounds MUCH better!
Either way, delish. 
[Reply]
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Hi Ricki! I’ve been on blogging hiatus for a month, and I’m so excited to be back! I had a wonderful month of eating all raw foods, so today I’m sharing a whole food smoothie. Creamy Cantaloupe smoothie is made with just the fruit of cantaloupe blended with lemon juice and cilantro. LOVE it!
So looking forward to meeting you at Nourished! I can’t believe it’s next week!
xo,
Heather
[Reply]
Ricki Reply:
April 6th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Thanks for this, Heather! I think I could use a month of raw, too! And yes, can’t wait till next week–whoo hoo!
[Reply]
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Thanks so much for hosting! I shared a Chocolate Covered Frozen Banana Bites recipe. They are so yummy and easy to make. Vegan-option included. Thanks again.
http://recipestonourish.blogspot.com/2012/04/chocolate-covered-frozen-banana-bites.html
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Thanks for the warm welcome & for featuring my Green Monster smoothie! That totally made my day! Happy Easter to you and your readers. Thanks for hosting this linky. I love all these ideas. Everything looks great!
[Reply]
Happy Friday Ricki! I linked up my Apple Spice Cake (Gluten-Free) and 30 Second Smoothie recipes this week. Have a wonderful Easter weekend!
[Reply]
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Thank you so much for your kind words, Ricki!
[Reply]
Ricki Reply:
April 7th, 2012 at 9:26 am
My pleasure! (And your recipes look great, too).
[Reply]
Ricki
Thanks for mentioning our KitchenAid Giveaway event here. Good Luck everyone!
I LOVE this linky!
SO many new people to get to know and tons of wonderful recipes to sink my teeth into.
Where do I start……Mmmmm
Happy Easter everyone!
See you next week Ricki!
You ROCK!
[Reply]
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Ricki,
I hope you had a lovely Easter. So sorry for squeeking in under the deadline, but I hope my vegan spinach, kale and dandelion green salad with candied pecans (palm sugar) and blood orange vinaigrette becomes a favorite in your home like it has in ours.
Thank you for this chance to link-in. xoxo
[Reply]
Ricki Reply:
April 10th, 2012 at 8:35 am
Never too late, Sunny, as long as the linky is still open!
And so funny that your salad also used dandelion–what we ate for dinner tonight!
[Reply]
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